To write a job post for a complex project, be sure to provide enough detail and context to help freelancers and agencies determine whether they’re a good fit, and what they can expect.
What makes one project more complex than another?
- Numerous skill sets working on one project—How many different collaborators will there be, and how will the work that they do be coordinated and organized?
- Size and volume of deliverables—Is the deliverable very large (e.g., a mobile app) or does the project comprise many deliverables (a series of educational videos)? This can impact the resources and time required to get it done.
- Dependencies—Do portions of the project overlap so that one deliverable may be waiting on a deliverable from another individual or team (e.g. rounds of testing during development or social media photos that require copywriting)?
- Aggressive timelines or deadlines—If you need more done in a shorter timeline, this may require additional resources or coordination.
If any of these apply to your project, you’ll want to use your job post to clearly state your goal, or the problem you’re looking to solve. But first, start with the basics.
Job Post Basics
Regardless of size or scope, every job post should have
- A clear title
- A high-level description that introduces the objectives, your business, the project, and what you need from the freelancer or agency
- Details about the deliverables
- Expertise required
- Any specifications they should know about, such as frameworks or file types phases of work, or interdisciplinary collaboration.
Start With An Introduction
Complex job posts need to do all of the above and more. Freelancers and agencies look for detail and context, especially if the project is complex.
Be explicit upfront that yours is a larger, more complex project. That might mean including the words “multi-phase” or “large-scale” or another appropriate descriptor. Don’t worry that this will scare talent off; in fact, many top freelancers and agencies tend to prefer meatier projects and love a good challenge.
- State your goal
- Mention what phase the project is in. For example, is it discovery work, or a complete build that just needs design?
- Outline what you already know. Are there set timelines, requirements, complexities, or other restraints they should know about?
- Explain what specifically you need help with by breaking the project or timeline down into chunks
Provide Additional Documentation
You want to provide detail, but also not so much it’s overwhelming—and there may be sensitive or proprietary information you don’t want to share in your job post. If necessary, let talent know that they can request further details, or direct them to related documentation.
Tip: Hold off on sharing more sensitive data or information until you’ve narrowed your choices down to a few top freelancers. Some information can be more safely relayed over a call, or once you’ve implemented an NDA.
REQUEST SPECIFICS FROM PROPOSALS
Be clear about what you would like included in the proposal, and consider including a small instruction as a way to ensure freelancers have read the post all the way through.
For example, a description may include the following: “To ensure you’ve read this section, please copy and paste this phrase in the first line of your proposal: [Unique phrase].” This will help you quickly identify proposals from those who are serious about your project.
You might also ask that they include:
- The most important project they’ve worked on and how that experience may influence their approach
- Potential challenges and hurdles they might expect with your project
- Links to relevant portfolio samples
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